Seyed Mostafa Azmayesh is a French-Iranian jurist, scholar and researcher. He is known for his research on Gnosticism, Islam and Christianity. As a human rights activist, he has pushed for reform within fundamentalist regimes such as Iran, and the reform of social or legal practices that are in violation of

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

Biography

Seyed Mostafa Azmayesh was born in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, Iran in 1952. On completion of his studies in Arabian Literature (Tehran 1974) and Law (Tehran 1975), he moved to France in 1976. In Paris he studied Theology and History of Law at the

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University (french: Sorbonne Université; la Sorbonne: 'the Sorbonne') is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon ...

, as well as Comparative Studies of Islam and Christianity at the

University of Lyon The University of Lyon (french: Université de Lyon), located in Lyon and Saint-Étienne, France, is a center for higher education and research comprising 11 members and 24 associated institutions. The three main universities in this center are: ...

for which he received two doctorate degrees. One of his professors was the philosopher and theologian

Henri Corbin Henry Corbin (14 April 1903 – 7 October 1978)Shayegan, DaryushHenry Corbin in Encyclopaedia Iranica. was a French philosopher, theologian, and Iranologist, professor of Islamic studies at the École pratique des hautes études. He was influe ...

. After having completed his academic studies he continued his research in the areas of religion, philosophy and various fields of science. Azmayesh was admitted into the lineage of initiates of the Nematollahi-Gonabadi order in 1969, which is the most popular and oldest Sufi order in Iran. Azmayesh is the official representative of the

Shah Ni'matullah Wali Shāh Nimatullāh or Shāh Ni'matullāh Wali, ( fa, شاه نعمت‌الله ولی ''Shāh Ne'matullāh-i Valī''), also spelled as ''Ne'matollah'' and ''Ni'matallah'' was the spiritual leader or Qutb of the Ni'matullah Order in Iran from th ...

Gonabadi Order outside of Iran. Azmayesh founded a spiritual school.

Human rights activities

Human rights efforts in Iran

Since the onset of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Azmayesh has worked to oppose those who propagate Islamist extremism. His activities have included talks in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(UN). He has argued that human rights principles are compatible with Quranic principles. For many years, Azmayesh has spoken in opposition to the practice of stoning in Iran. In response to the uprising in 2009 following the presidential elections, he supported freedom of expression and free speech and campaigned for the freedom of prominent political prisoners such as

Nasrin Sotoudeh Nasrin Sotoudeh ( fa, نسرین ستوده) is a human rights lawyer in Iran. She has represented imprisoned Iranian opposition activists and politicians following the disputed June 2009 Iranian presidential elections as well as prisoners sent ...

and

Narges Mohammadi Narges Mohammadi (; born 21 April 1972) is an Iranian human rights activist and the vice president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. In May 2016, she was sentenced in Tehran to 16 ...

, and religious and ethnic minorities such as the Kurds, Baha’i and Sufis. He has been influential in the release of numerous Sufis who were imprisoned by the extremist elements in the Iranian Regime as part of its program to suppress minorities.

Human rights efforts within Europe

He has spoken at a series of conferences in England, Germany, the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

and the European Parliament, and published research-based proposals and reports to tackling the growing issues of violence and extremism. Azmayesh co-founded the International Organisation to Preserve Human Rights (IOPHR) in February 2014, in order to continue his efforts to protect human rights for all, counter the rise of Islamist extremism and violence, and continue his advocacy for gender-equality and eliminating gender-based violence. IOPHR is an active not-for-profit organisation and think tank based in the United Kingdom. It is a research-based organisation, with the aim of preserving human rights for all and eliminating threats to the safety and security of society. IOPHR conducts conferences in the UK Parliament, European Parliament, and across Europe, working closely with other activists, researchers, academics, public bodies such as the

London Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

, and other public service officials.

References

External links